5 Steps To Design Your Restaurant Website

Running a restaurant can be both inspiring and challenging. You need to dedicate a lot of your time to make sure it runs smoothly. A lot of choices for creating social media accounts and websites are available on the internet, which can be overwhelming as well as confusing for you.

With some modern tools, you can easily design a good restaurant website that can entice people to order from you. An effective website does more than just allow your online visitors to access your menu, price, working hours, and contact info.

Let us discuss how to build a restaurant website, the steps you need to follow, and how quickly you can launch your website by following these steps.

5 Easy Steps to Launch Your Website

1.  Set Goals and Determine Purpose of the Website

Every restaurant needs an online presence, and having a website can do it effectively. Before embarking on the journey to build a website, you need to have a clear plan and purpose for it. This helps you set a goal and provides a vision of how you want your restaurant to flourish.

Announcing your restaurant to people far and wide is the fundamental step you need to embark on. Include all necessary information such as location, hours of operation, menu offerings, and contact details to start with.

As the pandemic has changed the way the restaurant industry works, it’s good to display all the necessary information in one place that is readily accessible to your customers. Online and takeout orders highly rely on the restaurant's website and its online presence for the ease of using technology and comfort. Getting your information in digital media can boost your sales considerably.

2. Manage Time and Budget

Once you have decided on creating a website, start putting the plan to action. In some cases, you may have very little time to dedicate yourself if your restaurant is up and running in full swing. Try to bring in your close associates to help you create a website, or else you may choose to hire a consultancy or team.

Allot the time and budget that would go into making the website functional. Follow on the plan to keep track of the progress, or else you may lose out amid other commitments.

You need to devote time to ensure the website is being made according to your preference. Thorough testing is always good practice to see how it is molding up and if it meets your expectations. Working on immediate corrections is the best way to help build it faster and steady.

• Be realistic: Set ground for real targets. Manage with the funds you have in hand rather than taking up and investing all the money in building the website. A basic site can be just as effective as a robust one as long as it conveys your brand effectively. 
• Stay on task: Being focused is the way to achieve the desired results. Let all the members involved know of the time frame allotted and set benchmarks to get better results.

3. Pick a Content Management System (CMS)

Once you have decided on creating a website, you need to put the thought into practice. The very first step is to choose the right site builder. There are different ways to build a website. You may choose to do it on your own or avail of the services from a service provider.

The numerous steps while building a website include, how to design, build, launch, and manage including the cost involved. There are various options available these days.

Websites like OrderEm.com help you create a site with ease by following laid-out steps. They help you build a site by a straightforward approach of drag-and-drop and template usage. You can walk through all these platforms to gauge which one suits your palette the best.

Each CMS platform has its own benefit. The ease and most suited for your restaurant can be found by checking all the features in each website builder. Register your domain name through these builders or buy one separately from a domain registrar. A good domain is one that’s not difficult to remember, so it’s a good idea to use your restaurant’s name if possible. These platforms do the standard hosting as it is integrated with the packages.

Hosting is basically the server space where the website information and details related to it are stored. On clicking on the website, this stored data is accessed by the user. Once all these areas are covered, the user should be able to navigate freely.

Building a website has never been this easy. Modern tools are easy to use, affordable, and provide all you need in one solution.

• Keep the domain simple: Match the domain name to your restaurant’s name as customers remember your restaurant’s name. Try to optimize your site for search engines.
• Go with an all-in-one: Simplicity often wins in the long run, so don’t sacrifice it for a low price. Get all your hosting and domain needs with one of the website builders instead of multiple providers.

4. Browse and Select a Restaurant Template

Every restaurant owner has a dream of creating and styling his own restaurant. Building your website template is nothing different. A website becomes the face of your business, and people start recognizing it with the color and theme.

Everyone on the internet searches for the nearby restaurant by clicking on google and social media handles. Creating your website and integrating it with social media can get you desired results. These social media platforms are randomly accessed and shared by many users. So investing your time in conceptualizing the template can get you the best results.

With the progressing time, the internet is becoming the walk of life for most businesses. Creating a website has also become a hassle-free process. There are many tools in the market that makes the process seamless. With these tools, you may optimize the search engines, which can get traffic to your website and integrate it with third-party profiles that have a higher ranking on Google.

Once the basic design of your website is done, you may need a graphic designer to accentuate the pages. But with many new template builders in the market, you can customize your own restaurant templates. There are tools that allow you to make changes like altering text, replacing images quickly, and then go live instantaneously.

Always give enough room to grow; your restaurant can grow from its current setup to a larger one. You need to ensure your website can hold for the integrations that you may want to add in the future.

5. Build Brand Value

If you decide to build a new website that replaces an old one, consider this an appropriate time to update your logo and menu to attract your customers. 

Things to keep in mind while updating your logo and designing the website:

• Keep designs simple:  Don’t fill in your website with a lot of content. Keep the design simple and let your menu do the talking.
• Add designs for promo: Designs are always inviting. Once the website goes live, let the images grab the attention of your viewers. Add designs that relate to your menu and restaurant.

Bottom Line

The restaurant business is competitive, and your rivals are looking for opportunities to grab a large bite. You need to create an edge by serving the best food and service. Along with tasty and creative dishes, customers look forward to an enriching experience. To grab your customers’ attention, build a website that stands out in design and helps them connect with your business.